Junjang
Jiang (rank)
Rank held by general officers in some East Asian militaries
Jiang (formerly romanized chiang and usually translated general), is a rank held by general officers in the armed forces of both the People's Republic of China (mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan. The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police use three levels at present while the Republic of China Armed Forces use four.
| Jiang | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 將 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 将 | ||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Tướng | ||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 將 | ||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||
| Hangul | 장 | ||||||||
| Hanja | 將 | ||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||
| Kanji | 将 | ||||||||
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In both North and South Korea, the same rank is also used but typically romanized as jang. In Japan, the same character is read shō. In Vietnam, the same character is read tướng.
People's Liberation Army
The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by haijun (simplified Chinese: 海军; traditional Chinese: 海軍; lit. 'naval force') or kongjun (simplified Chinese: 空军; traditional Chinese: 空軍; lit. 'air force').
| Rank group | General/flag officers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 上将 | 中将 | 少将 |
| Pinyin | Shàngjiāng | Zhōngjiāng | Shàojiāng |
| Literal translation | Upper commander | Middle commander | Lower commander |
 PLA Ground Forces[1] |
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 PLA Navy[1] |
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 PLA Air Force[1] |
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 People's Armed Police[1] |
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| 上将 Shàngjiāng | 中将 Zhōngjiāng | 少将 Shàojiāng | |
| Rank group | General/flag officers | ||
Dajiang
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Under the rank system in place in the PLA in the era 1955–1965, there existed the rank of dajiang (Chinese: 大将; lit. 'Grand commander'). This rank was awarded to 10 of the veteran leaders of the PLA in 1955 and never conferred again. It was considered equivalent to the Soviet rank of army general. The decision to name the equivalent rank yiji shangjiang (Chinese: 一级上将; lit. 'Upper commander first class') when it was briefly re-established in 1988-1994 was likely due to a desire to keep the rank of dajiang an honorary one awarded after a war, much as General of the Armies in the United States Army. It was offered to Deng Xiaoping who declined the new rank. Thus it was never conferred and scrapped in 1994.
Republic of China Armed Forces
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 一級上將 | 二級上將 | 中將 | 少將 |
| Pinyin | Yiji shangjiang | Erji shangjiang | Zhongjiang | Shaojiang |
| Literal translation | First class upper commander | Second class upper commander | Middle commander | Lower commander |
 Republic of China Army[2] |
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| Translation[3] | Full general | General | Lieutenant general | Major general |
 Republic of China Navy[2] |
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| Translation[3] | Full admiral | Admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral |
 Republic of China Air Force[2] |
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| Translation[3] | Full general | General | Lieutenant general | Major general |
 Republic of China Marine Corps[2] |
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| Translation[3] | General | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
| 一級上將 Yiji shangjiang | 二級上將 Erji shangjiang | 中將 Zhongjiang | 少將 Shaojiang | |
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by riku (Japanese: 陸, lit. 'land'), kai (Japanese: 海, lit. 'sea') or kū (Japanese: 空, lit. 'air'). The rank insignia of the Bakuryōchō-taru-shō was enacted on December 1, 1962, and before that, it was the same three-star as other Shō.
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 幕僚長たる将 | 将 | 将補 | |
| Romanization | Bakuryōchō-taru-shō | Shō | Shō-ho | |
| Literal translation | Commander serving as Chief of staff | Commander | Supplementary commander | |
 Japanese Army[4] |
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| U.S. equivalent[5] | General | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
 Japanese Navy[4] |
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| U.S. equivalent[5] | Admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | |
 Japanese Air Force[4] |
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| U.S. equivalent[5] | General | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
| 幕僚長たる将 Bakuryōchō-taru-shō | 将 Shō | 将補 Shō-ho | ||
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
North Korea
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangul | 대장 | 상장 | 중장 | 소장 |
| Hanja | 大將 | 上將 | 中將 | 少將 |
| Romanization | Daejang | Sangjang | Chungjang | Sojang |
| Literal translation | Grand commander | Upper commander | Middle commander | Lower commander |
 Korean People's Army Ground Force[6] |
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| Army general | Colonel general | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
 Korean People's Navy[6] |
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| Admiral of the Fleet | Admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | |
 Korean People's Army Air Force[6] |
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| Army general | Colonel general | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
| 대장 Daejang |
상장 Sangjang |
중장 Chungjang |
소장 Sojang | |
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
South Korea
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangul | 대장 | 중장 | 소장 | 준장 |
| Hanja | 大將 | 中將 | 少將 | 准將 |
| Romanization | Daejang | Jungjang | Sojang | Junjang |
| Literal translation | Grand commander | Middle commander | Lower commander | Given commander |
 Armed Forces[7] |
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| English translation (Army)[8] |
General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier general |
| English translation (Navy)[8] |
Admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | Rear admiral (lower half) |
| English translation (Air Force)[8] |
General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier general |
| English translation (Marine Corps) |
General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier general |
| 대장 Daejang |
중장 Jungjang |
소장 Sojang |
준장 Junjang | |
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Đại tướng | Thượng tướng | Trung tướng | Thiếu tướng |
| Chữ Hán | 大將 | 上將 | 中將 | 少將 |
| Literal translation | Grand general | Upper general | Middle general | Lower general |
 Vietnam People's Ground Force[9] |
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| Translation[10] | Grand general | Colonel general | Lieutenant general | Major general |
 Vietnam People's Air Force[9] |
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| Translation[10] | Colonel general | Lieutenant general | Major general | |
| Native name | Đại tướng | Thượng tướng | Trung tướng | Thiếu tướng |
| Rank group | General/flag officers | |||
South Vietnamese variant
| Rank group | General/flag officers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Thống tướng | Đại tướng | Trung tướng | Thiếu tướng | Chuẩn tướng |
| Chữ Hán | 通將 | 大將 | 中將 | 少將 | 準將 |
| Literal translation | Master general | Grand general | Middle general | Lower general | Stanard general |
 Army of the Republic of Vietnam(1964-1975)[11] |
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| Rank group | General/flag officers | ||||
- Ping, Xu (7 August 2017). "我军建军九十年军衔制度沿革" [The evolution of our military rank system over the ninety years of its establishment]. mod.gov.cn (in Chinese). Ministry of National Defense. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- "Lùhǎikōng jūnfú zhì tiáolì fù tú" 陸海空軍服制條例附圖 [Drawings of the Uniform Regulations of the Army, Navy and Air Force] (PDF). Gazette of the Presidential Palace (6769): 65–67. 7 November 1996. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- Ministry of National Defense (4 December 2019). "Act of Commission for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces". law.moj.gov.tw. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- Dolan, Ronald E. (1999). "National Security". In Worden, Robert L. (ed.). Japan: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 449. LCCN 91029874. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- Minnich, James M. (2008). "National Security". In Worden, Robert L. (ed.). North Korea: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 266, 268. LCCN 2008028547. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "gyegeubjang-ui jesig(je7joje2hang gwanlyeon)" 계급장의 제식(제7조제2항 관련) [Rank insignia (related to Article 7 (2))]. law.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- Katz, Rodney P. (1992). "National Security". In Savada, Andrea Matles; Shaw, William (eds.). South Korea: a country study. Area Handbook (4th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 292. LCCN 91039109. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- "Quy định quân hiệu, cấp hiệu, phù hiệu và lễ phục của Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam". mod.gov.vn (in Vietnamese). Ministry of Defence (Vietnam). 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- Pike, Douglas (1989). "National Security". In Cima, Ronald J. (ed.). Vietnam: a country study. Area Handbook (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 256. LCCN 88600482. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- Armed Forces Information and Education (1968). Uniforms of Seven Allies (DOD GEN-30). Department of Defense. pp. 26–28. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
